Credit Suisse at a Glance

Uppers

Downers

The Buzz

“Great legacy”

“Only known for financial sponsors and M&A groups”

“Just lost a handful of key senior bankers in tech”

“Very good bank”

About Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse Group is one of the world's largest financial
services providers. It offers clients expertise in the areas of
private banking, investment banking, and asset management. In 2015,
Credit Suisse appointed Tidjane Thiam as its new CEO, replacing
Brady Dougan. Tidjane Thiam had most recently served as Prudential
Plc CEO. Soon after joining the firm, Thiam announced a strategic
shift in which the firm would scale back certain trading businesses
and focus more on wealth management in order to build on its
strengths in wealth management, investment banking, and its home
market of Switzerland.

Today, Credit Suisse has operations in over 50 countries and
more than 47,000 employees from over 150 different nations. The
bank serves its clients through five divisions: Investment Banking
& Capital Markets, Global Markets, Swiss Universal Bank,
International Wealth Management, and Asia Pacific. All five
divisions work closely together to provide integrated financial
solutions to its clients, globally. These divisions are
supported by various corporate functions, which provide centralized
corporate services and business support, as well as implement
control procedures to help operate the bank on a daily
basis.

Credit Suisse's history dates back to 1856; nearly a century
later, as World War II raged in Europe, the bank opened its first
international branch (outside of Switzerland) in New York City in
1942. In 1978, the bank began a partnership with The First Boston
Corporation in the U.S., acquiring a controlling stake in the firm
10 years later (after which the bank was renamed Credit Suisse
First Boston). In 2006, Credit Suisse Group rebranded to
create an "integrated bank," and its investment bank dropped the
First Boston affiliation and became known as simply Credit
Suisse. Unlike many of its competitors, Credit Suisse managed
to stay out of negative headlines during the worldwide credit
crisis and did not need to rely on government funding to stay
afloat. In fact, the firm emerged as one of the handful of big
banks relatively unscathed by the crisis. Come 2011, like many
of its competitors, it was also forced to reduce headcount in the
face of souring markets worldwide. In 2014, its brand was somewhat
tarnished by a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in which
Credit Suisse plead guilty to conspiring to aid tax evasion on
behalf of wealthy clients. The bank was named "Best Global Bank" in
2010 and has received numerous regional and country awards as the
Best Private Bank and Investment Bank by Euromoney
magazine.